Ornamental coin holding belt buckles



July 1 1958 G. R. CHAMBERS 2,840,875

ORNAMENTL COIN HOLDING BELT BUCKLES Filed April 16, 1956 23 F/G. 4 2e X r 7 fi I y/ C'I y l I INVENTOR. 2 GORDON R CHAMBERS United States Patent O lz`,s4o,s's

ORNAMENTAL COIN HOLDING BELT BUCKLES Gordon R. Chambers, Phoenix, Ariz. v Application April 16, 1954, Serial No. 423,806 1 Claim. (ci. 244163) This patent concerns ornamental coin holding belt buckles.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an ornamental belt buckle including all necessary attachments to attach to a western type heavy leather belt, and having particularly an ornamented front face provided with means for holding a metal coin as an ornament in an attarctive and conspicuous manner;

Another object is to provide a belt buckle having a heavy metal plate with its outer face ornamented with outwardly extending ornamental devices which include a device adapted to hold coins or the like in a conspicuous manner as ornaments;

Still another object is to provide a belt buckle including a metal plate having an ornamental horseshoe configuration extending outward from its outer face, and provided with a slot for receiving and retaining a coin so that it will be conspicuously enclosed within the configuration of a horseshoe, and having a mechanism for holding and latching the coin in place within the horseshoe so that it can only be removed by the wearer.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

I attain the foregoing objects by means of the devices, structure, and combination of parts shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the front face of my improved belt buckle;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a sectional -view thereof taken substantially on line 3-3, Figure 1;..

Figure 4 is a back view thereof;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the front face of said buckle showing a modified form of ornament for holding a coin; and

Figure 6 isa fragmentary elevational view of a second modified form of buckle.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts in all views.

In the preferred form, 2 indicates a substantially rectangular metal plate which constitutes the body of the buckle. Numeral 3 indicates a metal bar attached to the back face 4 of the buckle, which bar receives the inner or permanently fastened end of a belt 6 las indicated in dotted lines, and 7 indicates a hook over which the free or adjustable end of the belt may be fastened as desired.

On the front face 8 of the belt buckle body 2 there are aflixed ornaments 9 arranged substantially symmetrical with regard to the center portion of the outer face of the buckle. In the central portion of the buckle face there is an outwardly extending ornamental configuration of a horseshoe 12. This outwardly extending portion may be cast integral with the body 2 or may be soldered or otherwise axed to it.

In the rear portion of ornament 12 there is a slot 14 formed between it and the face of the buckle body. This slot extends downward to substantially the lower portion of the ornament, and may be made by forming 2,840,875 Patented July 1, s

a groove on the inner face of the ornament which is adjacent the outer face of the buckle body. This groove is proportioned so that a coin 16 may be inserted at the top vof the ornament and slid down into the groove until itrests" on the material at the bottom of the groove. The groove thus formed provides a pocket to hold the coin in such a way that its outer face 21 is conspicuously exposed.

When the coin is fully inserted into this groove-formed pocket, it is retained by a linger or tongue 23 which is resiliently held over its upper rim edge. This nger is a part of a flat spring 24 which is attached at its lower edge 25 to the lower portion of the inner face of the buckle body. A tab 26 extends away from and upward from the spring portion 24, and may be grasped by the wearers thumb nail so that the tongue 23 may be withdrawn into the slot 26 in the body 2 through which it protrudes.

The tongue 23 constitutes a means for positively holding the coin in place in the groove above'described. The spring on which it is carried and from which it is formed constitutes a resilient means for keeping it in latched position.

When the coin is inserted in the slot as shown and held in place as above described, its ornamental face becomes part of the ornamentation otherwise displayed on the outer face of the buckle body 2, and is complimentary thereto.

Whereas above I have described a preferred form of my device, it is to be understood that the horseshoe ornament may be substituted for any other type of raised ornament which will provide a slot for the insertion of and holding of an ornamental coin, such as the U-shaped ornament sh'own in Figure 5, or the O ornament shown in Figure 6. The horseshoe and U have their side-arm parts 28 extending upward and the rounded connecting part 30 at the bottom to form a detention for the coin and a bottom for the slot 26.

Whereas I have described a coin as tting into the slot in the ornament, it is to be understood that any other disk shaped object having an ornamental face, such as a medallion, may be used in place of the coin, and this may be made either of metal, or organic material, or a combination of both.

While I have described the preferred forms with certain modifications in `the above paragraphs, it will be readily understood by those familiar with the art that equivalent parts may be substituted for those shown. The following claim is drawn accordingly.

I claim:

An ornamental belt buckle composed of a substantially flat body having a back face, and an ornamental front face including a centrally disposed ornament on the said front face of said buckle body, said front face having a U-shaped raised configuration including a curved closed bottom portion and laterally positioned portions extending upward from said bottom portion, said configuration having a slot on its inner edge, following the shape of said raised portion and adjacent the front face of said buckle body and open at the top to receive a coin-like ornamental disk and closed at the bottom, and a retaining tongue extending from the back face of said body through said body and supported on a flat spring on the back of said body; said tongue extending through an aperture in said buckle body and contacting the upper edge of said disk when in said slot and removably retaining said ornamental disk in said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 569,100 Gunther Oct. 6, 1896 (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS A n2,156,647 @man May 2, 1939 572 691 B t l D 8 1896 2,221,926 Quant ----7 Nov. 19, 1940 renzmger e a. ec. 861,568 w01fe et a1 July 30, 1,907 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,429,641 say'ko 2 sept. 19, 1922 5 133,996 Great Britain oct. 13, 1919 1,494,048 f Wi'ssotsky t'al. M215' 13, 1924 368,277 France Oct. 1, 1906 1,566,104 Knothe D. 15, 192'5 375,393 France May 14, 1907 1,610,848 Critchly Dec. 14,1926 652,327 France Y A l oct. 22, 1928 

